The pendulum
Volume 30, Issue 9
Celebrating
October 26, 2004
30 years of covering the Elon connmunity.
www.elon.edu/pendulum
EXTRA! extra !
Newspaper marks 30 years
of nhronicling the Elon legacy
jrindsay Porter __—
Wanag/ng Editor '03
There was a buzz surrounding Elon College
in October 1974. Fall was in the air, the
Fightin’ Christian football season
under way and students were in the middle o
their semester. And nestled in the confines o
*-^ng Student Center, a small group o
fitted students was recording it all ^ the win
®d losses, the speakers, the quirky anec o es
and events that were continuously shaping
campus both consciously and sublimin y
'Their stories became the buzz of the campus
for just one week, but their words would live
for eternity. In print. In Tlie Pendulum.
Six enterprising editors, 12
one typist joined pioneering professor a
Ellen Priestley in publishing the first edition o
The Pendulum in 1974. Priestley, a professo
in the journalism and English departments, im
her husband, also a professor, even ea
Space under the old Pendulum office w
they housed the Priestley Art Gallery,
ing to Provost Gerry Francis, who starte a
school in 1974. ,
“She was just a wonderful an ' ,,
woman,” Francis said. “She wiis very stately^
Priestley led a campaign encouraging the
Board of Tnistees to not only establis as
^ents newspaper, but also a communicati
tlepartment, a media board and a
Student Communications. At the time.
College was home to just 2,175 stu
studying 26 majors. ^
Patsy Lynch, co-editor in chief o
Pendulum from 1974-1975, is credited wi
developing the name of the paj^r.
Wend had mentioned including a time e em
in the name, and referenced daytime so p
Lindsay Porter / Photographer
TT,. nhrases “As the Pendulum Tums”
PenJulum Swings" were t»sed
, H forth and the staff finally agreed they
back an ’ pendulum. “Just
would name the contents and
Pendulum swing right to left
attitudes ot “Some years
r"—e.o..,ea.:,
„ newspaper on Elon’. ca„.pus. H»ee
sepiirate attempts were made to create a stu
dent press. The Maroon and Gold was pub
lished Dec. 1, 1919 to May 22, 1969, but was
discontinued due to lack of student interest.
Funding for the publication was also eliminat
ed because members of the Academic Council
felt the paper “was not serving its purpose.”
In the meantime. The Veritas had emerged
as an underground newspaper in October
1968. The Veritas editors called The Maroon
and Gold a product of Eton’s administration
and declared themselves a “liberated press.”
In 1962, Student Government Association
published The Campus Crier, and 18 to 22-
page periodical of campus happenings.
Francis recalled the The Pendulum’s hum
ble beginnings. “The first edition was just four
pages,” he said. “There was no color and it was
all done on a typewriter.”
Perseverance and diligence were the keys
to making The Pendulum successful. Securing
funding, keeping up with technology and fac
ing the potential of censorship were always
threats to the livelihood of the new organiza
tion. When Priestley, who served as adviser to
The Pendulum for many years, first started
working with the newspaper, she requested
$500 to purchase a compugraphic-typesetter.
Her request was denied; school officials con
sidered the purchase unnecessary. In The
Pendulum office today, now housed in
Moseley Center 233, staff members use
$1,500 Macintosh computers to write, design
and layout the stories the campus enjoys each
week.
“The Pendulum has grown in conjunction
with the institution’s growth,” Francis said.
“We have a great community, and The
Pendulum is a part of the community. It con
tains points of view and stories that people read
and value.”
Many years, editions and staff members
later. The Pendulum continues to cover the sto
ries that matter to Elon. Fall convocation
speaker Anna Quindlen said, “Words on a page
are my best self.” The words on each page of
The Pendulum represent Eton’s best self—
they tell the stories that shape a collective
memory, a living record.
Here’s to the next 30 years.